FROM PROBLEMS TO SOLUTIONS

Economic development is necessary if we want to improve society. There comes a time when the old must give way to the new, and it is not possible to preserve everything from our past as we move towards the future. Finding and keeping the right balance between progress and the protection of cultural sites can be a big challenge.

Big challenges, however, can sometimes lead to great solutions. In the 1950s, the Egyptian government wanted to build a new dam across the Nile in order to control floods, produce electricity, and supply water to more farmers in the area. But the proposal led to protests. Water from the dam would likely damage a number of temples and destroy cultural relics that were an important part of Egypt’s cultural heritage. After listening to the scientists who had studied the problem, and citizens who lived near the dam, the government turned to the United Nations for help in 1959.

A committee was established to limit damage to the Egyptian buildings and prevent the loss of cultural relics. The group asked for contributions from different departments and raised funds within the international community. Experts investigated the issue, conducted several tests, and then made a proposal for how the buildings could be saved. Finally, a document was signed, and the work began in 1960.

The project brought together governments and environmentalists from around the world Temples and other cultural sites were taken down piece by piece, and then moved and put back together again in a place where they were safe from the water. In 1961, German engineers moved the first temple. Over the next 20 years, thousands of engineers and workers rescued 22 temples and countless cultural relics. Fifty countries donated nearly $80 million to the project.

When the project ended in 1980, it was considered a great success. Not only had the countries found a path to the future that did not run over the relics of the past, but they had also learnt that it was possible for countries to work together to build a better tomorrow.

The spirit of the Aswan Dam project is still alive today. Perhaps the best example is shown by UNESCO, which runs a programme that prevents world cultural heritage sites around the world from disappearing. If a problem seems too difficult for a single nation, the global community can sometimes provide a solution.

4 . China is one of the world’s ancient civilizations and has the earliest outstanding bronze casting technology. Here we’ve created a list of 4 museums where you can gain an in-depth understanding of Chinese bronze.

Sanxingdui Museum

Address: Sanxingdui Ruin Site, 133 Xian Road, Guanghan, Deyang, Sichuan province

Hours: Comprehensive Gallery (the first exhibition hall): 8:30-18:00; Bronze Gallery (the second exhibition hall): 8:30-18:30. Last tickets sold at 17:00. Closed on the morning of Chinese New Year’s Eve

Ticket booking: 0838-5651526

General admission: Gallery ticket 80 yuan

Note: Children shorter than 1.2m (including 1.2m) can visit the gallery free of charge. The ticket must be used on the day it is sold and authorizes one visit to each gallery.

National Museum of China

Address: East side of Tian’anmen Square, Dongcheng district, Beijing

Hours: 8:30-17:00 (no entry after 16:30)

General admission: Free (passport required for entry), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)

E-mail: webmaster@chnmuseum.cn

Shanghai Museum

Address: 201 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district, Shanghai

Hours: 9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)

E-mail: webmaster@shanghai-museum.org

General admission: free (a max of 8, 000 admitted daily)

Hunan Museum

Address: 50 Dongfeng Road, Changsha, Hunan province

Hours:   9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays) and the eve of Chinese New Year

Tel: (+86-731) 8415833, 84475933

E-mail: web@hnmuseum.com

General admission: Free (passport required for entry)

5 . The Sanxingdui Museum in southwest China’s Sichuan Province enjoyed huge popularity during the three­day Qingming Festival holidays by receiving nearly 20, 000 visitors on the peak day, after the new archaeological discoveries brought international attention.

According to media reports, the museum saw over 15, 000 visitors on Saturday, the first day of the Qingming Festival, breaking its record for daily visitors. And on the next day, more visitors swarmed into the museum to exceed (超过) 19, 800. To cope with the large flow of people, on Sunday afternoon, the official Weibo account of the Sanxingdui Museum released the message to remind visitors of avoiding rush hours or rescheduling their visiting time.

The Sanxingdui Museum showcases various kinds of precious cultural relics unearthed at the site, such as the 2. 62­meter­tall standing statue, 1. 38­meter­wide bronze mask, 3. 95­meter­high bronze tree. Earlier on March 20, Chinese archaeologists announced some new major discoveries made during the 37th excavation (挖掘) since its last excavation 35 years ago. The ruins were first discovered in the late 1920s and first excavated in 1934. More than 500 important cultural relics have been unearthed in the six newly­found pits. Since the new discoveries were known to the public, the number of people visiting the Sanxingdui Museum has increased sharply.

The museum said although they are open as usual, the newly­found pits have not opened to the public yet and the newly­excavated cultural relics are still under restoration and cannot meet the public currently. But a hall for cultural relic conservation and restoration will be in pilot operation in April and officially open on May 18. Visitors to it can see how the relics are restored, according to Zhu Yarong, vice director of the Sanxingdui Museum.

Dating back about 3, 000 years, the Sanxingdui Ruins have shed light on the ancient Shu civilization and cultural origins of the Chinese nation, and have been regarded as one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.

Peru is a country on the Pacific coast of South America. It was the center of the    1     (power) ancient Inca Empire in the 1400s and 1500s. In the 16th century, Spain    2     (take) control of Peru and ruled until 1821.

If you want to travel around Peru, there are four places worth a visit. First, you can go from Cusco to the Amazon rainforest by plane. From there, you can take a boat to your     3     (accommodate) and then spend three days     4     (explore) the rainforest with a local guide. Then, if you want     5     (admire) the Incas’ unique architecture, Machu Picchu is the perfect place     6     you to visit. There you’ll be amazed     7     the ancient city,     8     (especial) its dry stone method of building. The next place, Cusco,     9     (be) once the capital of the Inca Empire. Arriving at Lake Titicaca, you will take a boat and stay with a local Uros family on     10     island for three days.

Two villages have been named the Best Tourism Villages 2022 by the World Tourism Organization, thanks to their achievements in balancing tourism with economic development while     1     (stick) to environmental protection.

According to the organization, 32 villages in 18 countries and regions including Austria, Chile and China     2     (award) the recognition late on Tuesday. China’s Dazhai village in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region     3     Jingzhu village in Chongqing won the recognition.

Figures     4     (provide) by the county’s culture and tourism bureau show that tourism development in Dazhai has brought great economic benefits to villagers and created more jobs     5     them since the village started to develop tourism around 2003.

As the bureau has pointed out,     6     the village only received 32,000 visits in 2004, the number rose     7     (sharp) to nearly 798, 000 in 2019. The villagers’ average income among its 1,212 people of 271 households, also saw     8     rise from 700 yuan per year ($100) to over 34,500 yuan in 2019, the bureau said.

Jingzhu village, the other village recognized by the World Tourism Organization this year, is located in Wulong district of southwest Chongqing. Seated deep in the mountains, the Jingzhu Village keeps the lifestyles and architectural     9     (feature) that are rooted in its distinctive cultural and geographic conditions, laying the foundation of the successful renovation.

The World Tourism Organization began to award Best Tourism Villages across the world in 2021     10     (promote) the cultural heritage protection and sustainable development of villages. China so far has four villages winning the title, the other two being Yucun village in Zhejiang and Xidi village in Anhui.